Who Supports Chelsea Manning?

"Chelsea is one of the most thoughtful, intelligent, empathetic and compassionate people l have ever met in my life... In the face of differences or even tension and hostility from others, her instinct is to attempt to see the world from their perspective, to empathize, rather than to judge or react in kind.

This has rendered her not only an incredibly insightful person but also an incredibly kind and selfless one. Remarkably, the difficultly of her ordeal over the last several years has only strengthened her character."

"PFC Manning was incarcerated at Quantico under conditions the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture called 'cruel, inhuman and degrading' and that led to the resignation of then State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley (Colonel, U.S. Army, retired) after he called PFC Manning's treatment 'ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid....'

Additionally, there is a long-standing perception in the military of disparate treatment. The phrase I heard repeatedly from the time I joined the Air Force in 1983 until the time I retired in 2008 was 'different spanks for different ranks.' I know that it is impossible to fairly compare cases, but rightly or wrongly there is a perception that senior military officers and senior government official who disclose information get sweetheart deals while junior personnel get slammed."

"Ms. Manning was incarcerated at Quantico for just under one year under conditions the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture called ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading.’ Now, she has been ordered to spend another seven days in solitary confinement as a punishment for her desperate act of attempting suicide. There is no doubt that these six years have been devastating to a person who sought nothing more than to inform the American public.

She sought no personal gain from her disclosures. Ms. Manning has already served six years. This is longer than any other whistleblower in United States history. Because of that, I believe it is time for her to be released from custody."